Tag: Writing tips

Measuring Your Progress as a Writer

~ The Regal Writer ~ Leave a comment
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A writer-friend recently asked “How do you know you’re making progress as a writer?”

I’m somewhat baffled by this question because I’ve never stopped to ask myself that same question. I’ve never thought about my own “progress.” I simply assumed that writing is about continuous improvement, that the more you write the better you’ll get.

But I don’t think there’s a clear cut answer to my friend’s question. It’s difficult to answer.  After all, what does progress really mean?

Progress can mean different things to different people. For some, progress means how their writing is improving. Writing progress is subjective, which makes it harder to measure. What is good writing for one person may not be that way for someone else.

For others, progress means how close they are to reaching some end goal, like finishing a manuscript. That’s easier to measure because it’s an actual, tangible result.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself regarding your writing progress:

* Am I writing every day, or at least on a regular basis?
* Do I have a clear idea of my end goal for my work-in-progress? Can I visualize what it will look like?
* How does your current writing compare to earlier efforts?
* Are you satisfied with the results so far? What would you like to do differently?

With these responses in mind, If you’re as baffled as I am by this question, here are a few suggestions for gauging your progress as a writer.

  1. Define what you mean by progress. What does it look like to you? Are you trying to reach a certain goal with your writing, such as a work count per day or complete an essay within a week? Or are you trying to measure the improved quality of your writing?
  2. Visualize the end result. What does your end goal look like? Visualize what you want to achieve. If you want, create a visual to inspire you. Sketch a picture or make a collage. Then put those pictures on a bulletin board or somewhere where you can see it every day. Let the picture inspire you to keep working toward your goal.
  3. Create a timeline. On that timeline, mark the starting date of your writing, whether that’s for a particular project or your overall practice. Also mark the ending date of that project. In between, mark periodic points which can designate review point. For example, you might have a timeline from January to December with each month marked off in between. Each month, you can compare where you are currently on your project with where you were the previous month.
  4. Mark the milestones. Celebrate every small victory. Whether that’s completing a chapter in your latest work-in-progress, finishing a writing course, or meeting your daily writing goals for an entire month, do something to commemorate the occasion.

For example, if you’re trying to monitor how often you write, use a calendar and put a star on each day that you complete a writing session. By the end of one month, see how many stars you’ve earned. If there are stars on only half of those days, then you know you have work to do.

When you take the time to assess where you are now and how far you’ve come, you’ll know what steps to take next.

Measuring the quality of your writing is a different animal. Quality is more subjective. What reads well for one person may not work for another. Likewise, writers are a notorious difficult bunch, often judging their work too harshly. However, if you’re truly concerned about the quality of your work and whether you’re getting better at expressing your ideas, there are several things you can do to gauge your progress.

1. Compare current and previous drafts. If you’re working on a piece with several drafts, you can read the current version and compare it to the first and rough draft of it. That will tell you if the story is developing the way you envisioned. Or read a recent work and compare it to something you wrote when you first began writing, say five or eight years ago. See how it has changed over time. Is it more descriptive? Does it have the right amount of narrative and dialogue? Is there too much emotion, or not enough?

2. Read your work out loud. By reading it out loud, you’ll notice words or phrases that don’t seem to fit or you’ll stumble over long sentences and tricky phrases. The mistakes will become more obvious. Then go back and revise.

3. Get feedback from an objective party. Hire a professional editor, recruit beta readers or work with a writing coach who can provide insights about the quality of your writing and provide suggestions for improving it.

4. Take a writing class. With an instructor to guide you and classmates to read your work, you’ll get plenty of feedback that can help you refine your writing.

5. Read widely. That means reading a variety of genres and authors which will expose you to different writing styles. You learn to write by reading as much as you can.

If you’re focused on improving the quality of your writing, progress will be difficult to measure. Each project is different, and you may tackle it at different points of your life and bring to it different experiences. So you may write beautifully one day while you might lost your creative mojo the next.

Whether you want to improve the quality of your writing or you want to create a tangible product, one thing remains true: progress occurs when you write as often and as consistently as possible.

So to truly make progress as a writer, keep writing!

Seven Easy Ways to Make Readers Love Your Writing

~ The Regal Writer ~ Leave a comment
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This week’s writing prompt: If there was a “Do-over” button, what event in your life would you like to do over or have a second chance at? Rewrite that event in your life the way you’d like it to turn out.

It’s not always easy to get people to read your stories or blog posts. It’s even harder to get them to like your work, share them or comment on them. How do you know people are reading your works? How do you know that they like what you’ve written? Figuring it out is like shooting an arrow at a target in the dark.

The most important thing is to pay attention to any feedback they give you. Which posts are getting the most likes? The more likes you receive, the more likely they enjoyed that story more than others. That might be a sign that perhaps they would like to see more content like that.

They may not always like the work you put out there, but that’s okay. As long as you meet certain expectations, they will like YOU. It’s up to you to give them what you want.

While you may not control how readers respond to your stories, you can control what you write and how it’s delivered. So whether you’re managing a blog or creating short stories or essays to share on Medium, here are six easy ways to make readers appreciate you what you do.

1. Be consistent with your writing. Set a schedule for when you post stories. If you manage a blog, decide how often you can post updates, whether it’s only once a week, or once a day or somewhere in between. Then stick to that routine. When people recognize the schedule you follow, they will likely follow along with you. They will begin to expect it. So if you post a story on Monday morning, they’ll look for it in their inbox. Readers like consistency and routine. It makes you easier to follow when you set that routine for them.

2. Keep your work clean and error-free. You might spend most of your time drafting stories and doing research, but don’t overlook the importance of proofreading. Check your grammar, spelling and punctuation to make sure it’s spotless. There’s nothing more annoying than reading a blog post filled with misspelled words; it’s distracting and it sends the message to readers that you don’t care about your work. Sure, there will be times when a misspelled word slips through after you’ve posted the story. That will happen. Readers will forgive an occasional error like that. Just be sure to take the time to proof your work before hitting the Publish button. Or if you’re unsure of your proofing skills, have someone else review it for you.

3. Write conversationally. Imagine that you are having a conversation over your favorite adult beverage with a close friend. You would likely ask the other person questions. You would probably use “you” to address them, and “I” when talking about yourself. Avoid heavy-handed descriptions and flowery speech that readers may not understand. Be blunt if you need to be, and don’t be afraid to break a few English writing rules if that’s what it takes to express yourself personally. The experts at Copyblogger have a few additional suggestions for writing conversationally on your blog.

4. Be passionate about your topic. Whether you’re writing a blog, a short story or an essay, be passionate about your writing. Indifference will come through, and readers will notice it. “It’s astounding how much better writing is when we write about something we care deeply about. The words flow easily, and we are much more convincing and engrossing,” writes Amy Newmark, publisher of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series in a Forbes magazine interview.

Maybe your passion is caring for your dogs. Then make dog care the focus of your blog. Then stop writing about things that have nothing to do with dog care, like the last restaurant you went to or the DIY home improvement project you attempted last weekend. When your topic is all over the map, you’ll have difficulty finding your target audience. When you stick with your core topic – dog care – you can expand your audience to include not only dog owners, but dog walkers, veterinarians, pet shelters and anyone who like dogs. Again, it’s about managing your readers’ expectations. If you establish early on that your blog is about dog care, readers will expect it from you again and again.

5. Give readers what they want. This is an extension of what I wrote about above. Pay attention to likes, comments and feedback from readers. They’ll tell you what they like best. If they respond positively to a particular story, say starting a dog walking business as a side hustle (to use the example above), then perhaps that is the angle you should keep writing about. If you’re a fiction writer, then give them fiction stories.

6. Give readers added value. Give them a few extras that will whet their appetite for good content. For example, I recently offered a weekly writing prompt which is consistent with my blog content about writing. In your case, you may decide to offer a weekly trivia question or a survey question related to a blog post. Those little extras become something new and interesting that readers can share with others, and makes them want to come back to see “what’s next?”

7. Be sure to respond to questions and comments. If readers really like what you’re writing, they’ll tell you by leaving a comment or asking a question. There’s nothing more flattering than receiving a compliment from a reader. Be sure to thank them though. Engage with them. Be responsive to their questions and comments. A simple thank you goes a long way to establishing trust with your readers.

It takes time for readers to find you and even longer for them to love you. But these simple steps will make it easier for them to appreciate what you have to offer.

Forget Jargon and Clichés; Write and Speak in Plain English

~ The Regal Writer ~ Leave a comment

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Has this ever happened to you? You are on the phone with a potential client. They ask a few warm-up questions to break the ice and get to know you better. The interview seems to be going well. Or so you think. Until the interviewer – a high-level marketing exec – begins to ask questions filled with marketing buzzwords you are not familiar with.

How would you respond? What would you say?

I was in a similar situation a few months ago. When the marketing exec I spoke with began using marketing jargon, I suddenly felt ill-at-ease. I felt excluded from the conversation. I’m not a marketing person. I’m a writer and editor who happens to occasionally write marketing copy. If someone starts talking about SEO strategy and marketing ROI, my eyes glaze over.

My job as a writer is to communicate as clearly as possible with readers. I can’t get held up by industry jargon and buzzwords that might mean something to the company but does not communicate clearly with their audience. To truly understand what this exec wanted me to write for her organization would have taken far more time and effort to ask loads of questions, and I suspected she did not have the patience to answer them. Naturally, I did not get the assignment with this client.

Browse any corporate report and leadership communications, and you’ll see they are filled with industry jargon and clichés that confuse readers and don’t present the organization in a positive light. Jargon is language specific to a business or industry often consisting of acronyms, abbreviations and specialty vocabulary that’s used as a shortcut to meaning among those who understand it. The other problem in business writing is clichés, those overused phrases that really have no meaning at all, such as “game changer,” “value add,” and “blue-sky thinking.” (For a good list of these clichés, check out this recent Forbes article and this one on PlainLanguage.gov.)

If you want to distinguish yourself and connect better with readers, then you need to speak and write what you mean in plain English. In other words, watch your language.

How can these problems be fixed? Here are a few tips from Business.com to help your business writing become crystal clear without relying on jargon and clichés.

1. Know your audience. What is their demographic? Their education level? Once you identify your audience, speak in their language, not your own. If your audience is a department of IT professionals, of course, your language will consist of IT buzzwords because they are more likely to understand them. But if your audience is made up of customers, you’ll want to speak as plainly as possible.

2. Don’t dress up your message. Naturally, you want to come across as sincere and knowledgeable, but don’t gloss over the message by using longer words and convoluted language. That will only muddy your message and create confusion. You don’t want to make your message sound more impressive than it really is. If you need to communicate to employees that several people were laid off, say: “Because of the company’s poor sales performance the past year, we had to fire several people from our sales and marketing staff.” End of story.

3. Use shorter words and sentences. Studies have shown that shorter speeches and messages are easier to remember over the long term.

4. Avoid using acronyms and abbreviations. According to PlainLanguage.gov, abbreviations are often published in an inconsistent format. For example, IBM vs. I.B.M. Sometimes, abbreviations appear only once in a document so it makes no sense to include them in your communications. The general rule I follow is to spell out the full company name the first time it is mentioned followed by its acronym in parenthesis, then use the abbreviation for all subsequent mentions. For example, I would write the National Association of Realtors (NAR) for the first mention, then NAR for all other subsequent mentions in the same story.

5. Edit your message. Review and rewrite it until it sounds right. You can usually cut the first draft in half. It might be helpful to read it out loud so you can hear how it sounds to your own ears, or read it to one or two other people who can provide feedback.

Your communications don’t have to be complex and confusing. Keep it simple. When you use plain English to write or speak your message, you will not only communicate more clearly and succinctly, you will win the respect of your audience.

What Should You Do If You Experience Writer Burnout?

~ The Regal Writer ~ Leave a comment

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The topic of burnout made news earlier this week when the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recognized it as an “occupational phenomenon.” Yes, burnout is an actual thing, though the WHO fell short of calling it a medical condition. WHO describes burnout as “a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”

Burnout is characterized by three factors:

* feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
* increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativity or cynicism related to the job
* reduced professional efficacy

However, WHO advises that their description of burnout is limited to the occupational environment, not to everyday matters like parenting or going to school.

How does burnout affect writers and other creative types? Do they experience burnout too? The answer, of course, is a definitive yes.

Julie Niedlinger, a freelance writer writing at the CoSchedule blog, says writer burnout happens when you use up all of your creative reserves. “Burnout is characterized by churning out content in a machine-like mode.”

Writer burnout is not to be confused with writer’s block, which is essentially having a lack of writing ideas. You stare at a blank page looking for a nugget of inspiration to begin writing, but there’s no feeling of burnout associated with it.

Other factors may play a part in burnout. Maybe you don’t necessarily like the topic you are writing about. Maybe you notice that the work you are producing is low-quality, below the standard of excellence you normally strive for. Maybe you realize that you pour so much of yourself into the writing process that you have neglected other areas of your life such as your relationships, your social life and your health. Because it seems you are working like a machine all the time, you aren’t totally present with your writing and you no longer enjoy the writing process.

Social media and technology have added pressure on creative types to constantly be “on”. Downtime is not encouraged or even thought about. It’s difficult to know when to turn off your switch.

Add the pressures of daily living – paying bills, making doctor appointments, getting the car fixed, making dinner for the family – and you can see how easily it is to become burned out by life.

If this sounds like you, don’t fret. There are several things you can do to climb out of this cycle of burnout.

1. Remember that you are not a machine. You are only human, and humans need to frequently recharge their batteries, just like cell phones. Otherwise, you won’t operate efficiently. Even better, just unplug yourself for a weekend. Learn to do nothing.

2. Change how you write. Niedlinger suggests diversifying your writing. If all you write are blog posts for low-paying content mills, try writing something different, like short stories or essays. Or write about a topic that has always fascinated you. If you have always enjoyed looking up at the stars and the planets, write about astronomy. Write for the pure pleasure of writing.

3. Alter your language. Stop calling it content or copy, writes Niedlinger. Find another name for what you do. Instead call it “my writing,” “my fiction,” “my essays,” or “my craft.” When you alter the language, you alter your relationship to your work.

4. Celebrate your milestones. Writers can become so trapped in the cycle of doing that they leave no time or space for being, writes life coach Kendra Levin in Psychology Today. Writers today allow no time to celebrate their successes. They have difficulty celebrating milestones, such as finishing a tough revision, finishing a chapter or getting an essay published. There always seems to be more work to do. Instead of jumping into the next project, honor and celebrate what you’ve just completed. Go out to dinner with a friend or give yourself a day off from writing. Every chapter you write and every essay that gets published is worth celebrating.

5. Remember that writing can save your sanity. “Making art can push you to burnout, but it can also save you from it,” writes Levin. “Writing is therapy, writing is meditation, writing is self-care.” I will also add that writing is comfort food for the soul. When life gets to be too much, take your problems to your journal. Use it as a tool to dump all your negative emotions. That’s where you can write to save your sanity, no matter what is happening on the outside.

Burnout doesn’t have to kill your love for writing. When you begin to notice signs of burnout, take note of it. Then make changes that will help you regain a healthy relationship with your writing.